Potassium-Uptake Systems of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Genomic and Protein Organization and Potential Roles in Microbial Pathogenesis and Chemotherapy

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a formidable microbial pathogen which uses multiple mechanisms to subvert host immune defences. These include the effective; protective barrier presented by the outer waxy coat; intracellular concealment from host defences; and the ability to enter a prolonged; dormant phase in the infected host. Priority strategies to combat the scourge of TB include the identification of novel and selective targets on/in MTB which are amenable to pharmacological or immune-mediated control. Because they are structurally different from their counterparts in eukaryotic cells and are likely to be essential for survival and growth; the major K+ transporters of MTB represent alternative and novel targets for drug and vaccine design. These K+-uptake systems of MTB are the primary focus of this review; with particular emphasis on their genomic and protein structures; properties and functions; and potential roles in intracellular survival

Searching for mycobacteria in tissue sections

This is a study of eighty-five lymph node biopsies obtained during the period extending from June 1987 to the end of April 1988. These were diagnosed as caseating granulomatous lymphadenitis consistent with tuberculosis on histotegical basis. Of these eighty-five lymph node biopsies, twenty four were obtained freshly [in normal saline solution]. Cultivation and smears stained by Ziehl-Neelsen and fluorescent staining methods were made from the ground substance of these biopsies, together with a trial of guinea-ping inoculation with infective material obtained from the same substance. Acid - fast and flourescent staines were used on tissue section as well. In this study we confirmed the superiority of fluorescent staning technique using auramine - O dye over both cultivation and acid-fast stains in detecting mycobacteria, whether it was tuberculous or non-tuberculous in origin both on smears and on tissue sections